"COVID-19 Death Today, Passed Away During Hospital Admission Process... Not Due to Bed Shortage" (Update)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Choi Dae-yeol and Jo Hyun-ui] It has been confirmed that a man in his 70s who died while waiting for hospitalization due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in Gyeonggi Province passed away during the transfer process. The health authorities explained that it was due to a rapid deterioration of his condition, not because of a shortage of hospital beds.

Gwak Jin, head of the Patient Management Team at the Central Disease Control Headquarters, stated at a regular briefing on the 20th, "The deceased was tested yesterday afternoon and was confirmed positive around 11:30 a.m. today," adding, "When we visited his home for transfer to a medical institution, we found him deceased."

The health authorities are currently investigating the exact cause of death but emphasized that this was not a case of death due to inability to be hospitalized because of a lack of beds.

Kwon Jun-wook, deputy head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, explained, "Strictly speaking, in our judgment, this is not a death while waiting for hospitalization," and added, "From the timeline, his condition rapidly worsened since yesterday, and he was confirmed positive today. The unfortunate incident occurred during the transfer process."

He continued, "There was no issue such as failure to assign a hospital bed or inadequate preparation by the medical institution, nor any procedural problems," and added, "A detailed investigation into the cause and circumstances is currently underway."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.